Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Eve's Apple

While Timmy was bent over and having his bottom wiped the other day, I heard him giggle as he stared at my legs through is own.

"Mommy, your ankle is purple and bumpy."

"Yes, Timmy, that happens to some ladies when they are pregnant."

Now standing upright, Timmy pokes his finger at all the bumps on my legs, fascinated at his discovery. I've accumulated some varicose veins over the course of the five other pregnancies, but apparently my children weren't very observant last summer; they seemed a very new discovery to Timmy. I don't have a single stretch mark anywhere, but boy would I trade those in a heartbeat for these veins.

I was horrified during Emily's pregnancy due to the new pain they caused, and due to the new and numerous purple marks that appeared; my entire right ankle was puffy, painful, and purple, starting at three months gestation. (My ankles mostly went back to normal 2 months post-partum.) The same has happened this time, only the ankle looks even worse.
Yesterday I had to break out my industrial strength, $90/pair, medical compression stockings, just so I could stand up without pain. The house is air conditioned, but it was still 76 degrees inside yesterday. I am trying not to keep it cooler than that, since our bill is already nearly $100/mo. Something tells me my resolve will slip fast.

My children were fascinated by the stockings. Each of them ran their hands up and down my legs, laughing. I let them, despite fears they might snag them. One has to put these stockings on using surgical gloves, because they are so tight and difficult to get on. The gloves help with gripping, and they prevent tearing. The pain relief is almost immediate, though, thank goodness.

Daniel: "But, Mommy, people are going to laugh at you." Keep in mind, these are THICK stockings.

Mommy: "I don't think so, Daniel. People are busy and have a lot on their minds. Even if they noticed, they wouldn't give it much thought."

Childbearing pain, the Bible tells us, is one of the consequences of original sin. While supervising my excited slip n slidders in the 90 degree backyard yesterday, dressed in my stockings, a slip, and a long, empire waist dress, I couldn't help but wish I could give Eve a piece of my mind about eating that Paradise apple.

The good news is that the humidity only lasted three days. Now, it's hot and dry, with a nice breeze. Really beautiful. Most of the backyard is shaded after 2 pm; a fact I'm sure I will be thanking God for throughout the summer, while on playground duty in my lovely stockings.

Emily giggled and squealed herself to exhaustion over the slip n slid. She had the time of her life! Every mother's favorite thing, I'm sure, is to see her children giggling with all abandon, over the simplest things. Wow! Birthing babies is so worth it, despite Eve's penchant for apples.

2 comments:

Betsy said...

Hello Pam. You have such a unique ability to see the positive side and the humor of things, even compression stockings. I am glad to see you're still writing (it's getting better and better) and hear your pregnancy is going well. I'm wondering if you really think Eve was to blame or if she got a bad rap:)
I'm looking forward to the dry air. Hope it's coming this way, nothing but muggy air here so far.

Jen said...

Poor Eve -- who could blame her, if they were Fuji apples? I mean, sure, hindsight is 20/20, but in the moment of eating a Fuji apple, don't they seem worth risking eternal hellfire? ;)

I feel bad for you that you're having so much pain. I tended to get a bit discouraged during my pregnancies because of all the small discomforts. You do seem to be good at focusing on the bright side. I hope we have a mild summer for your sake! It sounds like the next few days should be a bit more comfortable.